A lot of people are interested in Rheinmetall right now. In the past year alone, the technology and defence group’s recruitment center in Germany received more than 100,000 applications – that’s a record. What has been your personal experience of the company’s transition from the industry’s supposed “pariah” to “guaranteeing peace and freedom”?
Rheinmetall will experience an unprecedented rate of change over the next five years. We have prospects for the future like hardly any other company in Germany, and other companies in the country envy this situation. We waited a long time for this positive perception from the nation and its politicians.

In the 1980s, the focus was on what extent a credible deterrent is a necessary condition for peace. In that sense, I’m glad that public discourse is giving more credit to the importance of being able to defend our society. The thing that triggered this, the war in Ukraine, is a very sad state of affairs. But it was past due for politicians to be reminded of the relevance of this issue. For us, this transition has been a boon for our employees and a confirmation that what they are doing now, and what they have been doing for years before, is the right thing.

You were a student in the 1980s, weren’t you?
Yes, that’s correct. Back then, studying in Bonn, I witnessed the demonstrations against the NATO Double-Track Decision first-hand. That issue dominated student discussion.

How was it different than today?
Nobody doubts the necessity of defence capability anymore today. Back then, it was the other way round. The arms race debate led to the birth of the peace movement. After the Wall came down in 1989, an effective deterrent no longer seemed appropriate. Peace was taken for granted, an immutable state that did not have to be protected in any particular sense. As a result, there was a social consensus of no longer having to invest in defence capability, and instead using the so-called peace dividend for other purposes.

What do you believe makes Rheinmetall so special to applicants? What sets its staff and the Group apart from other DAX corporations, for example?
Our history, without a doubt. Rheinmetall has always been a technology company that cultivates its business areas with small, dynamic business units. In other words, we have been shaped by engineering. Working in small groups, the technology transfer and a strong customer focus help define Rheinmetall. Hand in hand with that, we have a keen focus on implementation and, despite the high tech, a healthy sense of pragmatism. That makes Rheinmetall unique!

Our work in security technology has meant that we have always maintained contact with the armed forces. Hiring former career soldiers is part of Rheinmetall’s corporate DNA. This has led to a composition that I would describe as agile, unpretentious, straightforward, and capable of quick decisions.

I’m sure we still have the potential for improvement in terms of the standardization of our processes and digitalization. Moving forward, the trick will be to continue growing dynamically and optimizing processes without sacrificing the edge in agility that we have carved out over the past few decades.

You were Chief Human Resources Officer at Rheinmetall Automotive AG for a long time. How did you view the Defence side back then? What did you think when the company joined the DAX last year?
For as long as I was in Automotive, I thought that the combustion engine embodied the peak of our technical expertise. I completely underestimated the technological fields that the Group addresses in Defence and the whole range of innovations that we have at our disposal. I became much more aware of that when I took on overall responsibility for the Group. To me, Rheinmetall is a technology company par excellence.

I was delighted when we were included in the DAX last year. We have worked very hard on the Rheinmetall Group’s value added; being a part of the DAX is a fantastic sign of recognition for the hard work by our employees.

Generation Z (those born between 1995 and 2010) are shaking up the labour market. In your opinion, which new challenges make sense especially, and where is the new generation overshooting the mark?
I don’t think that the changes are really that major. Generation Z is also looking for an employer that can tell them that what they are doing is important to society. On top of that, it has to offer a lot of leeway for personal development and ensure mutual respect in day-to-day interactions. As I see it, it’s not the hiring of candidates that has changed, but rather the labour market. Applicants today are much more aware that there is a skills shortage everywhere. Some years ago, they were happy to even get invited to an interview. Nowadays, they generally have more than one option.

Does that mean that applicants are more self-assured?
Yes, and this leads to negotiating things today that were never up for discussion before. The prime example here is work-life balance. It used to be that applicants wouldn’t go near it because they didn’t want to be turned away. Today, that’s no longer the case. They turn up for job interviews with much more self-esteem. Knowing this expectation, it is all the more important to make it clear to applicants what Rheinmetall needs – so that we can serve our customers, and what is or isn’t an option in that context.

What measures is Rheinmetall taking to promote the work-life balance of its employees?
I tend to be relaxed about the whole situation. At Rheinmetall, we have found good ways to respond flexibly to employees’ requirements. In particular, that means smoothly switching between being in the office and the option of remote working. Generally speaking, it’s important to have the transparency of work-related necessity and individual expectations, and to find solutions that work for both. I think we’re actually very good at this. There has been a significant shift in what young families expect in terms of balancing responsibility for their professional development and being there for family obligations. The times when parents would choose only traditional roles are over. Today, there are a lot more highly individual approaches. With that in mind, we’re now very relaxed about both parents taking the opportunity for parental leave.

These days, companies are measured much more by their diversity efforts. What role do diversity, equity, and inclusion play in your company’s HR strategy?
Rheinmetall stands for equal opportunities! That’s why there’s absolutely no discrimination in the Group, and it is essential for us to communicate this credibly both internally and externally.

Gender, sexual orientation, and handicaps must not and cannot be allowed to play a role. The only thing that matters is if employees are up to the task, and the responsibility that it entails on the basis of their personal skills and personality. We aim to ensure that by doing justice to every individual case.

How are you approaching the challenge of the skills shortage in the defence industry? Does it affect Rheinmetall less because of its reputation?
The skills shortage is affecting industry as a whole all over Germany and Europe. Thanks to our profile, however, interest in our vacancies is still undiminished. This is an advantage that allows us to replace the staff who usually leave due to age.

How is digitalization affecting the world of work in the defence sector, and how is your company adapting to that? Where is there less need for skilled workers?
We are currently looking very closely at how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will affect our future staffing requirements and the qualifications they will have to have. But it’s still too early to formulate a meaningful appraisal. Software programming will change. That much is already clear. AI can also already handle certain administrative functions today as well.

Mr Krause, you will begin your well-earned retirement at the end of 2024. What will you do on your first day after Rheinmetall?
(Krause laughs) I will toast the new phase of my life and, in a state of utter relaxation, I will talk to my wife about which of the things on our bucket list we want to do first. I’m especially looking forward to having total control over my time again – for skiing, for sailing, and for travel.

What would you have done differently in your career? What else would you like to have done? What are you especially proud of?
I wouldn’t have done anything differently! I have always felt privileged to be allowed to develop across the different stages of my career within the Group, which has actually been the case. And this is something that we can rightly be proud of: despite the far-reaching changes, Rheinmetall has remained an industrial company with high internal value added to this day. Our employees benefit from that as well. For instance, in the field of apprenticeships, in particular, we have been able to develop work prospects for our employees, and we still maintain these today. That’s not something that can be taken for granted in the face of global competition. I am all the more pleased that we are still represented at a variety of locations in Germany today.

The interview was conducted by David Ginster.